WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has offered the job of White House press secretary to his friend Dana White, the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in a social-media post that the Associated Press called unconventional even for the norm-busting president. White, who was in London on Saturday, told reporters he would fly to Washington and meet Trump at the White House on Monday, and he did not say whether he had accepted or rejected the offer.
Source: Associated Press via ESPN
Trump made the offer in a post on Truth Social while he was at his golf club in Florida. He wrote that he was pleased to announce that 'the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States', and said he had asked White to bring several UFC fighters with him as assistants. 'We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!' Trump wrote, in the post reported by the AP.
Source: Associated Press via Bleacher Report
The fighters Trump named in his post were Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison — Trump wrote the last name as 'Kayla Harris' — according to reports of the post by TheScore and other outlets carrying the full text. An offer in a social-media post is not an appointment: the White House has announced no appointment, and the press secretary's job does not need Senate approval, so White's own answer is what would decide it.
Source: TheScore
White: meeting on Monday, no answer yet
Speaking to reporters at a post-fight news conference in London on Saturday, where he was attending a boxing event, White said he was flying to Washington 'right now'. 'I'm going to meet with [Trump],' he said. 'We have a meeting on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have more to talk about after that.' Asked how he would balance the job with his roles in the fighting world, he seemed confused by the question and then said, 'Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already.' He declined to say what conversations he had already had with Trump, the AP reported.
Source: Associated Press via Bleacher Report
Before the news conference, White shared Trump's post on Instagram along with an image of himself standing behind the lectern in the White House press briefing room, with the words 'On to the next chapter.' That post has been read in opposite ways: one Israeli report described it as appearing to be a positive reply, while CNN reported earlier on Saturday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that White was not taking the job. Neither the White House nor a spokesperson for the UFC responded on Saturday to messages asking about Trump's post, the AP said. The claim that White has declined is therefore a single-source report at this stage, not a statement by White himself.
Source: ESPN (CNN report noted)
Confirmed: Trump publicly offered White the job in his own post, and White himself said he will meet Trump on Monday. Not confirmed: whether White has accepted or declined — his only public words so far promise more after Monday's meeting, and the reported refusal rests on an unnamed source cited by CNN.
A shake-up after the midterms
The offer came in a week of major transition at the White House after the Republicans' deep losses in Tuesday's midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. On Friday Trump announced he was replacing longtime adviser Susie Wiles with aide Stephen Miller as his next chief of staff — the move reported in the earlier story linked here. Read: Trump names Stephen Miller chief of staff
The press secretary's chair has been empty for weeks. Karoline Leavitt left the job at the end of August, and a brief trial of a new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, ended after five days — TheScore dates the vacancy to October 16, when Zacharia was removed. Trump remains without a chief spokesperson, the AP reported.
Source: Associated Press via ESPN
Trump and White are close friends. White spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024, Trump has attended several UFC events with him since returning to the White House in January 2025, and in June the president brought White and the sport to the White House South Lawn for the UFC Freedom 250 event marking America's 250th year and Trump's 80th birthday. What happens next rests on Monday's meeting: if White says yes, he would become the president's chief spokesperson at once; if the CNN source is right and he says no, the search for a press secretary — open for three weeks — goes on.